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How much time before it gets good?

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Hi. I just joined, as I believe you call it, the cult. I'm interested in writing, and I've written a couple short stories and edited them, but the process reminds me of that saying about polishing a turd. I'm trying to cut down on the suck in my writing, and I'm curious. How long will I take with writing before I should become adequate with it?

If you want to have an impact on your readers, you'll have to practice. Writing is just like anything else; the more you do it, the better you'll become.
Some famous person once said, "Your first book is going to suck."
Some other famous person said, "If you want to be a good writer, read."
I'm paraphrasing and forgetting who said them, but they're both worthy advice for new writers. Get involved with seasoned writers and pick their brains. Get involved in workshops. Take classes. Write as much as your schedule allows. Develop thick skin as quickly as possible because critiques will be honest and challenging to deal with. Take positive critiques with a grain of salt and brutal critiques as law until you're confident enough in your story telling abilities that you can trust yourself to say, "This story is my baby, but my baby sucks, so fuck my baby." Read a lot. Read more. Write more. Learn grammar and follow it like law until you're confident enough in your story telling abilities to say, "Fuck this rule, I have a good reason to break it." Sign up in writing forums like "Absolute Write" and "Lit Reactor" and involve yourself with others in your position and beyond. It will really help to know that others are just beginning, and becoming better is possible. Don't attempt to transform the literary world until you're confident enough in your story telling abilities that you can trust yourself to say, "Fuck the literary world. This story is good." Write more. Read more. The end.

10,000 hours to get really good. Maybe half that long before writing anything worth publishing. Think about how many people want to be writers because it's something anyone can technically do, all the noise that contributes to the world when people publish their work prematurely, and weigh that against those who've made it their career choice and invested the requisite education and practice, like any other vocation. I'm probably nearing that 10K mark, and still consider my (fiction) writing a hobby.

On the real though, even though i've always been a writer and wanted to write, i didn't actually write anything for the longest time because i knew it wouldn't be any good. What i did instead was soak up any piece of literature or film or TV show that i liked and study it. I did it for years. I learned and learned and studied storytelling and read what i wanted to write and then when i sat down and actually wrote, gold came out. Okay maybe not actual gold. More like a nice mist of gold. A shower of it. A golden shower. Golden showers came out of me.

On the real though, even though i've always been a writer and wanted to write, i didn't actually write anything for the longest time because i knew it wouldn't be any good. What i did instead was soak up any piece of literature or film or TV show that i liked and study it. I did it for years. I learned and learned and studied storytelling and read what i wanted to write and then when i sat down and actually wrote, gold came out. Okay maybe not actual gold. More like a nice mist of gold. A shower of it. A golden shower. Golden showers came out of me.

You've been on a roll. I feel like I need to revive my Favorites of the week thread or something.

10,000 hours to get really good. Maybe half that long before writing anything worth publishing. Think about how many people want to be writers because it's something anyone can technically do, all the noise that contributes to the world when people publish their work prematurely, and weigh that against those who've made it their career choice and invested the requisite education and practice, like any other vocation. I'm probably nearing that 10K mark, and still consider my (fiction) writing a hobby.

I forget who said it but they said to become good at anything takes 10,000 hours of doing it.
I might start adding up my time on writing and then as soon as I hit 10,000 just switch over to something like making furniture and do that for 10,000 hours. Then just keep switching it til I croak. I'll be a master of so many things!

10,000 hours to get really good. Maybe half that long before writing anything worth publishing. Think about how many people want to be writers because it's something anyone can technically do, all the noise that contributes to the world when people publish their work prematurely, and weigh that against those who've made it their career choice and invested the requisite education and practice, like any other vocation. I'm probably nearing that 10K mark, and still consider my (fiction) writing a hobby.

Also, can you imagine someone not knowing about this and thinking their writing still stinks and giving up in frustration when they're at 9,980 hours?
Oh man!

That would be a true tragedy. A glorious, glorious tragedy! I originally just replied with 10,000 hours as sort of a joke of specificity, but then edited it to be less of a dick. 10,000 hours is basically five years of doing something full time, so if you're more of an evenings-and-weekends warrior, probably about 10 years.

It also depends on whether or not one is interested in making a career out of writing. I write as a hobby. Another creative outlet that music doesn't provide for me (not fully, anyhow).
I write stories that I like for my own enjoyment. I still care about improving, but it's not necessary for me to meet my goal. That's the defining factor, I think. The more successful you want to be as a writer, the more it matters. If you want to publish a novel the traditional route, you'll have to meet a ton of expectations.
I have heard of that 10,000 hours rule-of-thumb as well, and I can't remember who said it. But I think it's a pretty reasonable statement.

10,000 hours to get really good. Maybe half that long before writing anything worth publishing. Think about how many people want to be writers because it's something anyone can technically do, all the noise that contributes to the world when people publish their work prematurely, and weigh that against those who've made it their career choice and invested the requisite education and practice, like any other vocation. I'm probably nearing that 10K mark, and still consider my (fiction) writing a hobby.

I forget who said it but they said to become good at anything takes 10,000 hours of doing it.
I might start adding up my time on writing and then as soon as I hit 10,000 just switch over to something like making furniture and do that for 10,000 hours. Then just keep switching it til I croak. I'll be a master of so many things!

Every day on my way home from work, as I cross over the 8th st bridge, I see hundreds of ducks speed swimming to congregate near where a tree has fallen into the river. These fuckers are up to something.

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